Laminated construction and method



-May10,1938. R,J.GEARSON 2,116,828

LAMINATED CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD Filed Feb. 20, 1936 i v/z J Geavwon -'Patented Ma 1c, 1938 Bus-1m m s PATENT OFFICE LAMINATED CONSTRUCTION AND 'METHOD Ralph J. Gear-son, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Arvey Corporation, Chicago, 'IIL, a corporation of Illinois Application February 20, 1926, Serial No. 64,866

window of the carton and to p'revent the mer- I r The present invention relates to laminated constructions, and more particularly tolaminated sheet material and a novel method of producing the same.

My, invention contemplates the provision of an improved laminated sheet material construction and method of producing same which consists in .permanentlyuniting a: transparent film to a sheet of material, which may be of rigid, semi-rigid or flexible character,-

and more especially to sheet material having one or more apertures to serve is windows through which material or me'rch'ahdise may be rendered visible as incarton or box construction, display cards, sample cards, etc., so

as to render such cartons, cards, etc., more durable, and capable of withstanding hard use and wear by protecting and preserving the exterior or face surface of the device and any printed or decorative matter containedthereon. The iilin.

thus secured to the sheet material forms a perfect sealed closure around the-aperture, providing a transparent window through"whi'ch the contents contained in or mounted on the above type of devices may be seen.

Certain types of materials and commodities are put up in cartons for convenience in handling, andothers are mounted or carried on display or sample'eards, .andsuch cartons or cards are frequently carried on shelves, and in or upon, counters or cabinets where the device and merchanchandise from falling through the window' in handling while still providing a carton which displays part of the contents thereof, the filled carton was wrapped in a sheet of transparent material, such as Cellophanef. This required 'a separate wrapping operation, and considerable care must be exercised to avoid having the .contents drop out of the apertured window during such "handling of the carton. Furthermore, the edges of the Cel1ophane" as well as the folded and overlapped ends must be secured in place,

and-the multiplicity of layers offolded transparentmaterial at the GIIdSoOf the carton detract to some extent from the total appearance of the package. Moreover, if the merchandise "containedin the carton is granulated or in small pieces or powdered in form, it is almost impossibleio wrap the carton in this manner without. I

spillage through the window. In any event cartons thus wrapped, while in transit or during handling will permitsuch fine material to flow through the window opening, and seep between the transparent wrappe andtheexterior surface of the carton, marke y impairing the appearance of the package of merchandise.

The foregoing difilculties, and disadvantagesheretofore encountered in devices of the above mentioned typesare eliminated in my novel lami nated sheet construction, and additional objects L and advantages thereover'will appear from the following description, taken in connection with disc may be readily observed. Cartons or cards for handling or displaying merchandise in this manner frequently become soiled or scufled, or damaged in handling and from general use, de-

- tracting materially from the appearance and 'sales' appealof the packaged or displayed merchandise or material. 1 am aware of several attempts to provide satisiactory devices of the abovementioned cha'rac ter forobviating the foregoing difliculties, none oi which, to my knowledge, have proven commercially successful to an appreciable extent and particularly in carton constructions provided with the accompanying drawing. In'the drawingz- Fig. i is a plan view ofan apertured carton blank provided with a laminated layer or sheet of transparent material on its entire exterior surface, and embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, after the blank has been cut and scored to form a-carton of predetermined shape and size.

Fig. 3 is a plan vi'ew'of the folded'carton.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the carton, taken at line 4-4 on Fig. 3. t

The carton shown in the drawing merely for purpose of illustrating a specificm bodiment of my'invention. The carton is formed V from a blank composed of a singie sheet ofJ-ela- L windows; In order that theimportance and character of my invention may be fully appreciated, I will now describe one carton construction that has heretofore been used.

Heretofore, in order that merchandise could tivelyflat, semi-rigid material ll, such as card-.-

board orpaper board in which one or more apertures or, windows II is formed, and the surface of the blank which is to subsequently constitute is selected V the exterior of the carton may be provided withsuitable printedor other: decorative matter. A film oftransparent material, as indicated at It,

- which is preferably a cellulose material, such as not be surreptitiously removed through the win dow of the carton, and to guard against its be coming soiled by direct exposure through the regenerated cellulose or cellulose acetate, or any other suitable transparent material, is adhesivelyl-pn'ited to the entire surface of the blank which is to constitute the exterior surface of the carcor.

ton, covering the window II and the printed or decorative matter contained on said exterior surface of the blank. It is to be understood that either or both the blank Ill and film l2 may be cut to a predetermined size before uniting together, or the blanks may be produced in multiple units from a large sheet or strip of paperboard from which individual blanks, when provided with a lamination of transparent film, may be subsequently cut to a predetermined size, it being understood that the apertures II are cut or punched out of the blanks, prior to application of the transparent film. The transparent film may also, if desired, be supplied as a continuous web from a roll of such material.

The inner surface of the film of transparent material, preparatory to securing to the blank I0, is coated with a suitable adhesive solution, such as one having a resin-lacquer base, and the coated surface of the film is then brought into contact with the exterior surface of the blank. The laminated paper board is then passed between heated pressure rolls for permanently uniting the two sheets together, and drying the adhesive, and if desired, further drying may be accomplished in a kiln. It is to be understood that'a suitable powdered adhesive may be employed, and when the superimposed sheets are subjected to heat, it plasticizes the adhesive to form a permanent bond between the transparent film l2 and the paper blank I ll. The adhesive employed, whether solution or powder, should necessarily be such that when dried it is substantially transparent. The use of an adhesive solution is preferred, however, and it will be apparent that when the film is adhesively united to the paper blank in this manner, it forms a perfect seal at the marginal edges of the window aperture ll, thus forming a sealed, visible closure therefor. When such cartons contain bulk granular or powdered or fine material, it cannot seep between the film layer and the exterior surface of the carton, and thus impair the appearance of the packaged merchandise.

The adhesive exposed on the inner surface of the film l2, registering with the window Ii, will normally acquire a somewhat tacky" character, when cooling to average room temperatures,which has a tendency to cloud or impair the transparency of the film, and pick up lint, dust and other foreign matter, and might even cause the material contained in the subsequently formed carton to adhere thereto. This tacky effect may be overcome in several ways, for example,'this exposed adhesive'coated area may be chilled at low temperature to cause hardening of the adhesive,v

or such exposed adhesive coated area' may be chemically cooled and/or neutralized such as by application of an ammonia solution which will eliminate the tacky efiect produced'by the resin in the adhesive solution. Another method for overcoming the tacky character ofthe exposed area of adhesive is by coating said area with a wax preparation including powdered magnesium;

such wax even if applied to a portion or-all of the to the sealing and drying rolls, such former rolls being provided with suitable surface material for performing the particular method selected; as for example, such rolls may be constructed and arranged for applying a neutralizing or cooling solution, or a wax coating, or may be formed for wiping or blotting the adhesive from the exposed area of the film.

After the laminated blank'is dried it is then cut and scored in a desired manner to permit subsequent folding into a carton of predetermined shape and size. 'As herein shown the laminated blank is provided with longitudinal score lines [5, l6, l1, and I8, and transverse score lines I 9, 20, 2|, and 22, defining side panels 24, 25, 26, 21 and sealing flap 28, which is adhesively secured to the inner surface of the panel 24 as seen in Fig. 4, completing the body of the carton. The ends of the blank are cut as seen in Fig. 2, to form at each end a pair of flaps, 30 and 3|, contiguous with the panels, 24 and 26, and closure flaps 33, contiguous with the apertured panel 25. The carton thus formed may be collapsed into a relatively fiat body for convenience in packing and storage for subsequent use. Although the carton herein shown is especially suitable for certain articles of merchandise, manifestly the shape and size may be varied to suit the particular character of merchandise to be contained therein, and when granular, or small pieces, or powdered material is to be containedin such cartons the end flap and closure construction may be of modified form so as to provide a proper closure to prevent the fine material from leaking out.

When the character of the bulk material to be contained in the carton is heavy, the transparent film employed should desirably be thicker to provide adequate strength, or when heavier paper b'oard stock is employed it may also be desirable to use thicker transparent film to compensate for the increase in strains and stresses which exist when the laminated blank is folded into carton form, and when the material is containedthereln.

Prior to arriving at my present state of development, an attempt was made to laminate transparent cellulose film to the surface of a carton blank, by applying the adhesive to the surface of the blank. In doing so, it was found that it was not possible to obtain a good bond between the film and the surface of the cardboard blank, and the cellulose film could be easily peeled off. Manifestly, because the bond was not good, it did not insure providing a perfect seal of the film surrounding the apertured window. Hence, if such carton were to be used for granular or powdered or fine material, thematerial would seep between the film and exterior surface of the carton, and would greatly impair the appearance of the package, which would be highly objectionable, Furthermore, by applying adhesive directly to the surface of the blank that is to constitute the exterior of the carton, it has been found that the finish of the cardboard blank is impaired; this is also so with printed matter contained on the exterior surface of the blank, because the adhesive often causes blotching or running of the ink. I have found that by applying the adhesive coating to the transparent film I obtain substantially a perfect bond with the surface of the blank, resulting in a good seal of the film adjacent the apertured window, without impairing the finished surface of the carton and the printed matter contained thereon. In addition, the layer of transparent film serves to materially increase the strength of the carton and the transparent window will be substantially fiat and will not wrinkle or soil, and cannot be easilytorn or broken.

It is to be understood that the term "blank, as used herein and in the claims, is not to'be construed as defining a blank for merely a single carton, but may be a multiple form blank from which a plurality of individual blanks may be cut.

Although I have illustrated a specific embodiment of my invention as applied to carton construction and have described a preferred sequence of the steps of my novel method, it will be manifest that my invention maybe applied to yarious other types of cartons and other laminated structures, and that the steps of my method may be modified or varied without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as limiting my invention to the specific embodiment herein illustrated, and described, or the exact steps of the method as described, except as so limited in the appended claims.

. I claim as my invention:

1. The method of producing a'laminated sheet of material having a transparent lamination forming a protective external covering for one entire surface with a transparent window, which consists in first forming an aperture in a sheet of material, then applying an adhesive coating to one surface of a dry, cellulosic,,transparent film and bringing it into contact with one entire surface of said sheet of material and covering said aperture, then subjecting said combined film and sheet of material to pressure for permanently uniting them together and forming a sealed transparent closure for the aperture,'and then subjecting the exposed adhesive ,coated area of the film registered with said aperture to treatment for reducing the tacky, character of said exposed adhesive to render it normally non-adherable.

2. The method of producing a laminated sheet of material having a transparent lamination forming a protective external covering for one entire surface with a transparent window, which consists in first forming an aperture in a sheet of material, then applying an adhesive coating to one surface of a transparent film and bringing it into contact with one'entire surface of said sheet of material and covering said aperture, then subjecting said combined film and sheet of material to pressure for permanently uniting them together and forming a sealed transparent closure for the aperture, and then applying a neutralizing solution to the exposed adhesive coated surface portion of the film registered with said aperture.

3. The method of producing a laminated sheet of material having a transparent lamination forming a protective external covering for one entire surface with a transparent window, which consists in first forming an aperture in a sheet;

of material, then applying an adhesive coating to one surface of a transparent film and bringing it into contact with one. entire surface of said sheet of material and covering said aperture, then subjecting said combined film and sheet of material to pressure for permanently uniting them together and forming a sealed transparent closure for the aperture, and then chilling the exposed adhesive coated area of the film registered with the aperture.

of material, then applying-an adhesive coating to one surface of a transparent film and bringing it into contact with one entire surface of said sheet of material and covering said aperture, then subjecting said combined film and sheet of material to pressure for permanently uniting them together andforming a sealed transparent closure for the aperture, and thenblotting the exposed adhesive coated area of the film registered with the aperture.

5. The method of producing a carton of laminated sheet material having its entire external surface protectedwith a transparent lamination which comprises first forming an aperture in a blank of semi-rigid sheet'material, then applying an adhesive coating to one surface of a dry, cellulosic; transparent film and bringing it into con-' tact with an entire surface of the blank which is to constitute the external surface of the carton and covering said aperture, then subjecting said combined film and blank to pressure for permanently uniting them together, then subjecting the exposed adhesive coated area of the film registered with said aperture to treatment for reducing the "tacky character of the exposed adhesive to render it normally non-adherable, and then cutting and scoring the united sheets of material for subsequently forming into a carton.

6. The method of producing a laminated sheet of material having a transparent lamination forming'aprotective external covering for one entire surface with a transparent window, which comprises first forming'an aperture in a sheet of material, then applying an adhesive coating to one surface of a dry, transparent film of cellu lose acetate and bringing it into contact with one entire surface of said sheet of material and covering said aperture, then subjecting said combined film and sheet of material to pressure for of the film registered with said aperture to treatment for reducing the tacky" character of said exposed adhesive, to render it normally nonadherable.

7. The method of producing a carton of laminated sheet material having its entire external surface protected with a transparent lamination which comprises first forming an aperture-in a blank of semi-rigid sheet material, then applying an adhesive coating to one surface of a dry, transparent film of cellulose acetate and bringing it into contact with an entire surface of the blank which is to constitute the external surface of the carton, and covering said aperture, then subjecting said combined film and blank to pressure for permanently uniting them together, then subjecting the exposed adhesive coated area of the film registered with said aperture to treatment for reducing the tacky" character of the exposed adhesive to render it normally non-adherable, and then cutting and scoring the united sheets of material for subsequently forming into a carton.

RALPH J. GEARSON. 

